Jaguar confirms next XJ flagship will be all-electric...

Jaguar Land Rover has teased the next-generation all-electric XJ at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. A sketch of the new car's rear end flashed up on a screen at the company's press conference, just before CEO Professor Dr. Ralf Speth introduced the all new Land Rover Defender. The new XJ will be made in the UK at JLR's Castle Bromwich production site, safeguarding thousands of jobs over the next few years.

The picture, which appeared behind Speth as he welcomed the world's motoring media to Germany, shows the new XJ will get a full-width LED light bar. It looks as if the new XJ will get a sharper XF-inspired bootlid, with a centrally-mounted badge and Jaguar lettering, too. The image fades to white, disguising the car's left-hand side and much of the overall shape.

Speth said: "Based on our rich knowledge and experience gained from the I-Pace, Formula-E and I-Pace eTROPHY, our engineering team is in full swing to deliver the world’s first, full-electric luxury sports saloon. The flagship of Jaguar: the all-new XJ.

"The new, all-electric XJ – extraordinarily remastered for the 21st century – will offer spiritual freedom for our customers," he said. "Gliding in elegance, new tranquillity and new functionality, and in full consciousness taking care of the environment."

This news comes just two months after JLR announced the new XJ would be built in the UK, which followed the British manufacturer’s pledge to offer electrified options for all its new models from 2020. The new XJ will be the first electric car produced at the brand’s re-tooled Castle Bromwich plant, being designed and developed by the same team responsible for Jaguar’s all-electric premium SUV, the I-Pace.

Jaguar aims to implement “giga-scale” battery production to support the project, with a new UK-based plant in Hams Hall, North Warwickshire. The facility will be operational by 2020 and aims to produce enough batteries to supply 150,000 electric Jaguar Land Rover models each year.

“If battery production goes out of the UK then automotive production will go out of the UK,” Jaguar Land Rover CEO explained. “The battery is 40 per cent of the cost of an electric vehicle - we want to keep this kind of added value inside the UK.”

Basing production of the all-electric XJ at Castle Bromwich also makes logistical sense to Jaguar Land Rover, offering easy access to the firm’s electric motor manufacturing centre in Wolverhampton. The experience of the plant’s current employees (who specialise in working with the XJ’s all-aluminium construction) will also prove invaluable.

Switching the XJ to a pure-electric powertrain will also allow Jaguar to steal yet another march on its German rivals, following the success of the I-Pace. That car arrived around a year before Mercedes or Audi managed to get the EQC and e-Tron to market – cars that are based on existing platforms instead of the Jaguar's bespoke electric architecture.

Major investmentBritain’s biggest car maker has suffered a series of setbacks over the past 12 months, forced to axe jobs and investment to boost profits amid dwindling sales due, in part, to JLR’s reliance on diesel, which has fallen out of favour with consumers.

The facility at Castle Bromwich will be completely overhauled during the summer. “I am delighted to announce a major electric vehicle offensive to be built at Castle Bromwich,” Ralf Speth told Auto Express. “This facility will give us flexibility to develop EVs and hybrid vehicles alongside our diesel cars, giving customers even greater choice.”

Asked about the size of the investment JLR had made at the site Speth added: “If you introduce new architectures it’s not millions but billions - it is spread over a number of years.” The first vehicle to be produced at the site will be the fully-electric, ninth-generation Jaguar XJ.

The investment at Castle Bromwich comes despite the UK’s uncertain future with the European Union after Brexit. Speth told Auto Express that the company had been given no assurances in the case of a no-deal Brexit and that the firm has “made the decision for the better of society and keeping production in the UK”.

Glad to see it, but I don't think it will set the sales charts on fire. Also hope the interior is more elegant than the I-Pace in keeping with previous XJ models. But that means I'd expect it to start above $90k, perhaps into six figures.

Glad to see it, but I don't think it will set the sales charts on fire. Also hope the interior is more elegant than the I-Pace in keeping with previous XJ models. But that means I'd expect it to start above $90k, perhaps into six figures.

Definitely six figures. But still cheap considering Tesla Model S could easily get to six figures with options. Even though Jaguar is claiming "world's first all-electric saloon" title for the new XJ, that honor will likely go to Mercedes EQS. And EQS will definitely be in six figures as well.

I know my back-in-the-day biases are going to get the best of me someday, which may very well be today. But I've never had a British automobile (MGs, Rover, Jaguar) that didn't eventually suffer nightmarish electrical system gremlins at some point in my term of ownership (cough, cough, Lucas, cough)...

But I imagine those British-manufactured batteries are going to be fabulous now. Right? Right? Pip Pip and all that... Tata!

Remember back then, one of the reasons they went with a V12 was because of the smoothness of that engine type. Also, they put something like 6 mufflers (or was it 8?) on it so it could operate in near silence. Well now with the EV XJ they will achieve that goal of a large flagship sedan that is very fast but totally silent and silky smooth.

Remember back then, one of the reasons they went with a V12 was because of the smoothness of that engine type. Also, they put something like 6 mufflers (or was it 8?) on it so it could operate in near silence. Well now with the EV XJ they will achieve that goal of a large flagship sedan that is very fast but totally silent and silky smooth.

Jaguar has to concentrate on other matters, since you can say the same for most pure electrics when it comes to that, even a Chevy Bolt. Well the Bolt isn't lightening quick. The way it's built though still says Chevy. There's no confusing it with a I-Pace

Whether electric or gas, the next XJ will sell equally poorly. Jaguar as a brand is simply not on the radar of most luxury buyers.

I see a good amount of F-Paces.
I assume its their best selling product?
From what I've read, a Pace larger than the F-Pace is coming.

Jaguar has been constrained from entering the CUV space, because of its relationship with Rover. The conventional wisdom was Jag=cars, and Rover=trucks.
That was okay until "CUV ALL the things!" occurred.
Jag needs more (and bigger) CUVs. The E-Pace is too small to be credibly seen as a Jaguar, IMO.
Also, Land Rover/Jaguar needs to rethink the Land Rover branded SUVs. Many of them feel anonymous or redundant.
It would be better to focus on the Defender as the lone Land Rover, especially as its the most "Land Rover" of all of the current Land Rovers.
The Discovery and Discovery Sport should be redesigned and repositioned as Jaguar models. These "softer" CUV-oriented Rovers just make much more sense as Jags.
The Range Rover line-up is solid AF, and they shouldn't change one thing there.

I believe you can give most of the credit to Tesla there. The whole idea of one upping your traditional Saturn EV1, Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi MiEV (weird looking thing) got things rolling in the pure electric market.

All myself to quote..myself...in the last Electric Jaguar thread we had (that you started )

Originally Posted by The_Real_Stack

I mean, you can't really blame Jag. Their luxury cars are also-rans in a category that doesn't really matter anymore (sedans), and they'll never knock off 1-2-3 (MB/BMW/Audi) in the markets where it competes. Its SUV is okay, but will always be overshadowed by cousin Land Rover. So what other options do they have? Go downmarket and screw whatever name recognition they have left up, or throw a hail mary on a new category and try to be first-ish/early to market in the luxury EV game (for a car that isn't Tesla). You can't blame them for choosing the hail mary option.

Originally Posted by Volkl

My wife wanted a SUV with a manual transmission. I suggested a Wrangler, she said no way, too masculine

Jaguar has been constrained from entering the CUV space, because of its relationship with Rover. The conventional wisdom was Jag=cars, and Rover=trucks.
That was okay until "CUV ALL the things!" occurred.
Jag needs more (and bigger) CUVs. The E-Pace is too small to be credibly seen as a Jaguar, IMO.
Also, Land Rover/Jaguar needs to rethink the Land Rover branded SUVs. Many of them feel anonymous or redundant.
It would be better to focus on the Defender as the lone Land Rover, especially as its the most "Land Rover" of all of the current Land Rovers.
The Discovery and Discovery Sport should be redesigned and repositioned as Jaguar models. These "softer" CUV-oriented Rovers just make much more sense as Jags.
The Range Rover line-up is solid AF, and they shouldn't change one thing there.

This discussion comes up a lot when FCA is discussed too. Why do we have so many Jeeps when the lower models could easily be Chrysler CUVs? Because you can sell the models at a higher price point with the Jeep or Land Rover badge.

Originally Posted by Doug Butabi

And on the tenth day of the two thousand fifteenth year, TCL finds out about rich people.